Vanguard’s Alta Pro 283 CT tripod wins an award

Press Release:
With its excellent and innovative design, the Alta Pro 283 CT tripod has succeeded in one of the most renowned international design competitions. It is one of only 45 pioneering-design products out of more than 4,000 entries to be given the 'red dot: best of the best' awards for the highest design quality by the top class jury in the product design category of the 2010 red dot awards.

The festive awards presentation, with more than 1,000 guests, will take place in the Aalto-Theatre, an opera house and performing arts venue in Essen, Germany, on 5 July 2010 (Essen is the 2010 European Capital of Culture). The product will then be presented in a four-week special exhibition at the red dot design museum on the premises of the Zollverein colliery.

Mac Bills, Sales Director for Optical Distribution Services, exclusive UK distributors for Vanguard, said: "We are very proud to be associated with such a distinguished range of products and this award confirms the Alta Pro's place among the top tripod ranges in the imaging market."

European Marketing Manager, Christophe Regnault, added: "We are the first tripod brand to receive such a distinctive award and I'd like to thank all our designers and R&D team members for their efforts to make our tripods unique and innovative to push the boundaries of the industry."

The Alta Pro Series of tripods
The Alta Pro tripod from Vanguard is a professional tripod with unmatched flexibility and stability that enables more angle possibilities than ever before.

Unlike traditional tripods, Vanguard Alta Pro's innovative Multi-Angle Central Column (MACC) allows users to move the central column as needed from zero to 130-degree angles in variable vertical and horizontal positions and at any angle a 360° scope is available.

Its Instant Swivel Stop-n-Lock (ISSL) System feature allows photographers to securely reposition the central column in one simple movement, in just a few seconds, while maintaining the tripod's stability. With lightweight carbon fibre or aluminium alloy legs, the Alta Pro is popular for those who need extreme flexibility without extra weight.

The Vanguard in-house design team had two inspirations for the design of the Alta Pro tripod – to make a tripod able to shoot any angle and adjustable within a couple of seconds (practical), and to make a tripod as light as a feather (lightweight).

Embodying the featherweight idea the design team looked to birds to inspire their design – the canopy (the top of the three legs) resembles the beak of an eagle and the concepts of versatility and lightness, of swift yet precise movement, continue the eagle theme.

The result is a modern look, a fresh image of a tripod as functional as it is lightweight, as good looking as it is revolutionary in its ease of use.

"All products that have won an award in the red dot design award had to convince an international expert jury of their quality. The products stand out from the masses with their excellent design and innovative approaches and proved their quality in one of the toughest design competitions worldwide," explains design expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator of the red dot design award.

This year, designers and companies from 57 nations with a total of 4,252 products took part in the “red dot award: product design”.

The exhibition of the winning products in the red dot design museum
Together with the other award-winning products, the Alta Pro 283 CT tripod will be on display from 6 July to 1 August 2010 in the exhibition: Design on stage – winners red dot award: product design 2010 at the red dot design museum on the premises of the ‘Zeche Zollverein’ World Cultural Heritage Site in Essen. After that it will be presented in the red dot design museum’s permanent exhibition for at least one year. With approximately 1,500 products in an area of more than 4,000 square metres, the red dot design museum houses the largest permanent exhibition of contemporary design worldwide.